For years, the grist mill was used to grind corn grown on-site into corn meal for grits and corn bread. It was water-powered employing a paddle wheel in a small creek that once flowed alongside the mill. That creek is now dry, a result of building one of the plantation's many man-made ponds. But the building still stands and rewards the curious with a glimpse back into a time when meals didn't depend on a trip to the grocery store.

One interesting bit of history is that as the plantation was used more and more as a hunting preserve, and the number of bird dogs in the kennels grew, the cornmeal produced at the grist mill came to feed the four- and the two-legged residents. Gamekeepers would keep all the scraps left over from butchering game, grind it up with a machine in the grist mill, and mix it with corn meal to create the plantation's own dog food in a massive cooker. At one time the grist operation was said to produce 150 pounds of homemade dog food a day.

 

 

 

Five Star Plantation
P.O. Box 40
100 County Road 65
Kellyton, AL 35089
256.234.0900